


say what's on your mind

by Suspicious_Protagonist



Series: it's an effed up world [3]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Angst, M/M, Post-Squip, but not a whole lot honestly, not a whole lot of angst in this one, this is sort of a bridge before the "final" fic but it was necessary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 05:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11396394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suspicious_Protagonist/pseuds/Suspicious_Protagonist
Summary: For the past few days, one friend had stumped her. Nothing made sense, everything was out of the ordinary.There was something wrong with Jeremy, and Christine was determined to help her friend. It was the least she could do.---Yeah, he knew something was up but that didn’t mean he would be able to fix it. That wouldn’t stop him from trying though.There was something wrong with Michael, and Rich was determined to help his friend. It was the least he could do.





	say what's on your mind

**Author's Note:**

> so this is split between Christine and Rich's perspective! it takes place after 'no other half there' by like a week

Christine wasn’t stupid. Yeah she was spacey, and she didn’t always get the jokes people made, and maybe she was a little oblivious, but one thing Christine Canigula wasn’t was an idiot. Passing classes? No problem. Learning lines? Easy. Understanding her friends? Simple as breathing usually.

Usually. That was the key word. Because for the past few days, one friend had stumped her. Nothing made sense, everything was out of the ordinary.

There was something wrong with Jeremy, and Christine was determined to help her friend. It was the least she could do.

 

Rich may not have been the brightest guy. He ate a supercomputer that took over his mind for over a year, and he set a house on fire, and maybe he wasn’t the best at reading social cues, but that didn’t make him an idiot. And even if it did, he could still be able to see that something was wrong with his friends.

Seeing was only half of the problem though. Yeah, he _knew_ something was up but that didn’t mean he would be able to fix it. That wouldn’t stop him from trying though.

There was something wrong with Michael, and Rich was determined to help his friend. It was the least he could do.

 

\---

 

Michael wasn’t the most social of people. It may not even be a stretch to call him a recluse. Christine knew this, but _man_ was trying to find the boy harder than she thought it would. She had a class with him (not that she could talk to him then), and Michael seemed to disappear from his seat as soon as the bell rang. Christine tried multiple times to catch up with him before his next class, and she tried a few times to find him at lunch. He was just never _there_.

After a week of observing, failed attempts at conversation, and slight rehearsing (she had to be prepared), she finally managed to catch Michael at an opportune time. Well, maybe opportune was too strong of a word.

It was Friday after school, and Christine had figured out where Michael parked his car, which wasn’t that hard, _who else rides a PT Cruiser oh my god-_

Christine stood under a tree near his car, unsure of when he would leave the school. Her locker was pretty close to this exit, but she thought Michael’s was near the other side of campus, so she had no idea how long she’d be waiting for him to show up. The sun made even her part of the shade warm and Christine sighed.

_For Jeremy._

 

Jeremy hadn’t be the most social recently. Rich didn’t think it would be any stretch of the imagination to call him a recluse. This wasn’t what he was normally like, so Rich was a little concerned, but he had to tackle problems one at a time. Michael was his priority right now, and when that was solved, it would be time to help Jeremy. Right now, he just needed Jeremy to solve the first problem. Only there was a slight problem with that. _Jeremy was no-fucking-where to be found._

It took Rich nearly an entire week of looking for him to find Jeremy. Rich had nearly given up and enlisted Jenna to help him when the goal was just up ahead. Fucking finally.

Jeremy was waiting for the bus to show up and was standing off to the side by himself. There were a few underclassmen milling about and Jeremy seemed to tense up whenever someone got a little too close.

It was hot outside and the sunlight made the burns on Rich’s arms uncomfortable. Rich was standing a few feet away from Jeremy and he felt his heart sink in his chest a little. Jeremy seemed really off. Worry started to swim around in his mind, adding on top of the worry about Michael. He shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts.

For Michael.

 

Michael had just left the building when Christine had started to wonder if any other students owned a PT Cruiser. She nearly threw herself away from the tree and ran up to Michael, trying to seem calmer than she felt.

One look at Michael’s face and she was pretty sure she was failing. Michael looked uncomfortable and just _off, was something wrong with him too?_

“What is it Christine?” Michael asked, shuffling in his hoodie as the sun beat down on the two of them. Christine’s train of thought stopped and changed tracks, going to everything she had planned on bringing up to Michael. How Jeremy had been avoiding everyone, how he was starting to fall asleep in class, he wasn’t eating, and sometimes he seemed like he was talking to someone-

“It’s Jeremy.” Nothing else. Christine’s mouth wasn’t on the same page as her brain.

 

Rich weaved his way through the underclassmen (most of which were taller than him, what the _fuck-_ ) until he stood next to Jeremy. The taller boy offered a strained smile before looking away.

Jeremy shuffled to the side away from Rich, and Rich closed the gap after a second. Panic painted Jeremy’s features for a moment and _shit, maybe something is off with him too?_

“What’s up Rich?” Jeremy’s casual tone felt forced and it sent a weird feeling up Rich’s spine. Everything in the past few days came to mind. How Michael could barely even look at Jeremy without looking pained, how he was becoming even more antisocial (a feat Rich had thought impossible), he cried a little whenever they played video games, and sometimes Rich was afraid that Michael just wouldn’t show up one day-

“It’s Michael.” Rich barely breathed it out, worry choking out any other words.

 

Michael seemed to go through a dozen different emotions in about 3 seconds before he actually spoke.

“What?” He looked pained and concerned and almost angry, and Christine let out everything she had wanted to say at first.

“Something’s wrong and I don’t know what. He’s been acting weird and since you two are best friends-” Christine had started to talk faster but her words died in her mouth when she saw Michael’s face. He was beyond pained and angry. He was broken.

“Look Christine,” he said, his voice cracking, “I know you mean well, but literally anyone would’ve been a better choice to talk to. Jere’s not my best friend. He doesn’t want my help.” Christine tried to think of someway to respond, any way that she could convince him. This was just nothing that she had expected.

The two stood there awkwardly, Michael’s eyes locked to the ground while Christine couldn’t stop staring at Michael. He mumbled something about needing to get home and brushed past her, leaving Christine in the parking lot staring after Michael’s car long after he was gone.

 

Jeremy’s eyes widened and he looked like he went to say something before catching himself.

“What do you mean?” Jeremy’s voice seemed strained and he looked so conflicted, like two sides were fighting. Rich ignored the chill up his spine.

“I mean, something’s up. He’s not acting like himself and it’s kinda worrying and you’re the only one that could really help him-” His words caught in his throat when Jeremy’s expression changed. He looked like he was getting torn apart.

“Anyone else could help, Rich. I’d only screw things up.” Jeremy’s voice was a whisper and Rich wasn’t even sure he heard him right. “It’s not like he wants my help anyway,” Jeremy said, a bitter laugh ending the conversation.

The buses had arrived and Jeremy walked away, not meeting Rich’s eyes or saying goodbye. Rich just stood there and watched as Jeremy’s bus faded from view.

 

\---

 

Christine walked into the Pinkberry and saw her two friends sitting at a back table with three yogurt cups, like they did every Friday afternoon. Jenna sighed when Christine slumped onto the table after sitting down. Brooke moved her frozen yogurt out of the way before patting Christine’s arm.

“What is it? Jeremy again?” Jenna put her phone on the table before turning fully to Christine, sliding her own frozen yogurt closer to her. She lifted her head and looked at the two, trying to find exactly what to say. No words came so she just shook her head and let it drop back down.

“Weren’t you gonna try to talk to Michael? Is that what it is?” Christine nodded after Brooke was doing speaking, sitting back up in her chair. Her frozen yogurt was slid back in front of her and she scooped it up, trying to calm down a little.

It wasn’t working. Nothing was going right! She had expected help when she talked to Michael, they were supposed to be best friends. So why did he look so crushed?

“I mentioned Jeremy and it’s like he turned to stone. And then crumbled. He refused to help, saying he was the last person that could. What’s that supposed to mean? They’re best friends!” Christine waved her hands when she spoke and nearly threw her desert onto the girls in front of her. Brooke moved to calm her down.

“Were. Those two have barely spoken in weeks,” Jenna said, checking her phone briefly. Christine froze in her chair.

“Wait, what? I thought they were doing alright!” Christine scooted her chair forward and leaned towards Jenna. Jenna looked back at her phone, which kept lighting up with new messages.

“Apparently not. And from the sound of it, Michael’s having his own issues. Might have to do with why he won’t help you help Jeremy.” Jenna said all of this while tapping away at her phone. Brooke tried to look over her shoulder at the screen.

“What does Rich have to do with this?” Brooke asked. Jenna locked her phone and placed it face down, turning to Brooke.

“I was getting to that. It’s not nice to snoop,” she teased. Brooke sat up and blushed lightly, earning a laugh from Jenna.

“What _does_ Rich have to do with any of this?” Christine asked, staring intently at Jenna. The situation was starting to feel like a convoluted puzzle and she’s just realized she’s missing a few pieces.

“Well, Michael’s dealing with his own issues, as you know,” Jenna paused here and looked back at her phone, “and someone has just informed me that Rich is trying to help him. By talking to Jeremy. Their encounter seems to have gone as well as yours with Michael.” Christine felt a few more pieces click into place.

“They haven’t talked for weeks, they’re miserable, and they freaked out at the mention of each other.” Christine started to think out loud, ignoring Jenna’s comment about Captain Obvious.

“Sounds like they need to work out everything between them before you can handle the other issues.” Brooke’s words put everything but the final piece in the puzzle. Christine stood up from the table, shaking it slightly.

“I gotta go. I know what to do!” Christine was practically vibrating in place before she took off running, not hearing Brooke’s shout of confused encouragement or Jenna’s laughter. When Christine reached her car, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Jenna had texted her an address followed by a short message.

_that’s where you’ll find him._

Christine started her car and headed for the final puzzle piece.

 

\---

 

Rich was laying down on Jake’s sofa, staring at the ceiling. He had turned the tv on, hoping to distract himself, but as time passed it grew too difficult to focus on anything.

A few hours ago, Rich had gotten a text from Jenna. This itself was strange. Jenna usually talked to him through Twitter, or waited until school. She rarely texted anyone as far as Rich knew. The text itself was even more worrying.

_expect a visitor in a few hours. it’ll help fix your problem._

Rich checked his phone again and stared at the message. His problem? Which one? Michael’s avoidance of his issues, Jeremy acting off, or the fact that Rich was hopelessly in love-

Best not to think on that last issue right now. Other things to worry about. Like how Jenna knew he was having any problems that he needed help fixing. Or how it had been nearly three hours since Rich got that text and he’d only seen Jake. Since he was in Jake’s house, Rich highly doubted he was the solution.

Rich was startled out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He threw the blanket off and maneuvered around the coffee table, trying to keep himself from sprinting for the door. He threw open the door, anxiety rising up in his chest when he was met with the sight of-

“Christine?” Rich wondered if he’d fallen asleep and was having a weird and uneventful dream. He bit the inside of his cheek and _yep,_ he was awake. Christine stood in the driveway, looking awkward and sheepish.

“I know it’s late, but I meant to get here a few hours ago. I just got lost, and I would’ve just gone home but this is important and I don’t wanna wait,” Christine said, seeming to only use one breath. Rich held up a hand, trying to get her to pause for a second. When she did, Rich motioned for her to come inside. He didn’t really think Jake would mind.

“Christine. Why are you here?” Rich asked, hoping she would get to the point. The anxious feeling had turned into a knot and was pressing in his throat.

“Something’s wrong with Jeremy. And apparently Michael, too. I think we can help each other help them.” Rich paused by the door. Two birds with one stone? He made a mental note to thank Jenna later. He sat on the couch next to Christine and turned town the tv. Rich figured he wasn’t gonna be sleeping for the next few hours.

**Author's Note:**

> i am so sorry this took so long!! it was kinda hard to write but now i can work on the "final" fic for this series!  
> a HUGE thanks to slightlyworriedhuman on here for reading my fics over  
> tumblr: suspicious-protagonist


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